Uncle Sam just came down like a ton of bricks on Wynn Resorts. Making history in a way it would prefer not to, Wynn has agreed to pay the largest fine ever leveled on a casino company. It will have to cough up $130,131,645 to settle an extensive money-laundering case that brought together the Department of Homeland Security, the IRS and the DEA. Amazingly, the federal probe flew completely under the radar until early this morning, perhaps because we were all distracted by the ongoing scandal at Resorts World Las Vegas. Whatever the case, Wynn got clotheslined hard for its risk-friendly business stratagems.
This is a company that never seems to learn. It was fined over $50 million between Nevada and Massachusetts for Steve Wynn‘s sexcapades. You’d think that would be a wakeup call. But no. The lure of easy, surreptitious money was too strong from Wynn Resorts execs to resist and they blazed new trails of wrongdoing. For their misdeeds the company will be paying a price that puts Las Vegas Sands‘ $47 million settlement with FinCEN totally in the shade. It also ups the ante for what Resorts World may be asked to put out.
In return for not being criminally prosecuted, Wynn pled out to a staggering laundry list of misdeeds. In essence, in order to allow tainted individuals to gamble their money with Wynn, the company went to extraordinary lengths to circumvent the Bank Secrecy Act and other such legal niceties. Reads the official release, “For example, [Wynn Las Vegas] regularly contracted with third-party independent agents acting as unlicensed money transmitting businesses to recruit foreign gamblers to WLV. For the gamblers to repay debts to WLV or have funds available to gamble at WLV, the independent agents transferred the gamblers’ funds through companies, bank accounts, and other third-party nominees in Latin America and elsewhere, and ultimately into a WLV-controlled bank account in the Southern District of California.” Shades of Mathew Bowyer‘s wife acting as an independent contractor with Resorts World—but on steroids.
Although no names are named, it’s stated that Wynncore cage employees “with the knowledge of their superiors” (Ahem!) transferred the seedy money from third-party accounts back into shady-player accounts, closing the circuit. It gets worse. The casino engaged in proxy gambling whereby stalking-horse players placed bets at the direction of undesirable individuals who didn’t want to attract attention. It sounds like the sort of thing that happens in Macao. Don’t say Wynn Resorts hasn’t learned anything from the Far East!
Then there was the “Flying Money” scam. “A money processor, acting as an unlicensed money transmitting business, collected U.S. dollars in cash from third parties in the United States and delivered that cash to a WLV patron who could not otherwise access cash in the U.S.” Again, Wynncore was well aware of what was going on. A Wynn Resorts overseas marketing veep, whose criminal associations made him to seamy to enter the U.S., was the beneficiary of $1.4 million in transactions designed to avoid Suspicious Activity Reports. There was also a Chinese felon whose business at Wynncore went unreported because of his undesirable status.
Words fail us as to the extent and brazen nature of this criminality. Suffice it to say that heads ought to roll at Wynn Resorts, starting at the top, although this seems unlikely. Also, having been caught napping, the Nevada Gaming Control Board needs to wake up, move into action and levy some hefty fines (and maybe a license revocation) on the company. (Was there a reason that the feds seem to have concealed their probe from Silver State regulators? Would you trust George Assad to keep his mouth shut?) Does that sound severe? Mind you, Star Entertainment in Australia is currently hanging by a thread for criminal actions not dissimilar to Wynn’s. Let that be a lesson to American companies: You’re never too big to get spanked.
Speaking of Steve Wynn, he made news in the same 24-hour cycle when he had his defamation suit against The Associated Press quashed by the Nevada Supreme Court. Wynn had, rather ludicrously, been claiming that the AP acted with malice when it reported on his sexual misconduct as CEO of Wynn Resorts. In other words, they were out to get him. Right, Steve. The high court was no more convinced and administered the crotchety old bastard a swift kick in the patootie. Hopefully that’s the last we’ll hear of this nuisance lawsuit and maybe of Wynn himself, too. A graceful retirement seems in order.
While on the subject of cretins, especially those who have stuck around too long, troglodytic Maine Gambling Control Unit Executive Director Milton Champion is in hot water again. The entire casino-inspector staff has signed a letter of no-confidence in Champion, seemingly rendering his position as Maine’s top regulator untenable. At issue is the allegation that Champion created a hostile work environment, as well as tried to execute a de facto deregulation of Maine’s casinos. Inspectors allege that Champion changed their work schedules to get even with them. He also, and there seems to be no disputing this, left casinos unsupervised on weekends and holidays. As we’re seeing, Big Gaming has not reached the point where it can operate without regulatory oversight, but Champion threw such caution to the winds.
If Champion’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he was suspended last year for using his official account to disseminate his sexist and racist views. Any man who refers to women as “bitches” needs to have his Cro-Magnon ass returned to the unemployment line. Besides, Champion has been on the job since 2005, so perhaps some fresh air is overdue. Either way, he’d best not let the doorknob hit him on the way out.
Jottings: New broom Boyd Gaming is already sweeping things clean in Norfolk. What used to be Headwaters Casino is now Project Mermaid, although we’re sure they can come up with a better moniker than that … Having climbed to 50% public support in the polls, Missouri‘s constitutional amendment to allow sports betting may not go to voters after all. Initiative backers appear to have cheated in their signature-gathering efforts, putting the ballot question in grave doubt … Texas casinos might move ahead, no thanks to Las Vegas Sands. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick (R), although 74, has aspirations to serve in a second Donald Trump administration. Were that to happen, the biggest obstruction to Lone Star State gambling would be removed … Barstool Sportsbook douchebag-in-chief Dave Portnoy is big mad that he lost 300 dimes on the Baltimore Ravens last Thursday. So sad.
Wynn and Resorts World will fire some mid-level executives, who will then be hired by other gaming companies, including…Wynn and Resorts World. The higher of those fired will get incredibly generous golden parachute deals. Then it’ll be “rinse and repeat” time.
UNLESS the Gaming Control people suspend or cancel some individual and corporate licenses. Some of these companies may get the message if their casino operations are closed for a week or two or a month. The individual licenses? Nah, these clowns will never get it, so revoke their licenses and tell them to get a job in some other business. Just because you’ve spent your whole career in gaming doesn’t mean you get to spend it there no matter what your misbehavior.